In the Mountains

L and I took E to meet my parents yesterday, so she could spend the week with them. This is her first time going on "vacation" with my parents - they are camping in the Smoky Mountains, and we don't have big travel plans that would necessitate her stay with them. It's simply "for fun."

I am so blessed to have the parents that I have - among many other amazing qualities, they shower E with love and attention, and provide what I can honestly refer to as "holy inconsistency" - meaning that they throw routine out the window and teach her how to adapt to crazy schedules that don't always allow for 8am breakfast, 12noon lunch, 1pm naptime, and 6pm dinner. The mom in me needs a plan to feel productive, yet I love that Nana and PopPop expose E to flexibility in their own loving, non-stressful way. I am always amazed at the genuine joy she has in the midst of this "chaos." Reminds me of the example Jesus gave in Matthew when He told His disciples that, "Unless you become like this little child, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." The inconsistency comes not in our God, Who is the same yesterday, today and forever, but in our circumstances. How incredible it is that E trusts resolutely that her Nana and PopPop have only her best interests in mind, even if at times it's not her normal routine. All she knows is that they are good, and she trusts that.

Backpedal to Matthew for a moment, where Jesus reminded us that, "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!"

E playing in the "WATER!" - a creek that runs through the campground they are staying in. Despite the cold (the river fluctuates between 64 and 69 degrees during the summer), it's apparently her favorite place to be. And so begins what is certain to be a summer tradition with Nana and PopPop!